Two teenagers were drowned when skating on a lake in southwest
China's Yunnan Province on Wednesday after the ice cracked and
eight boys fell into freezing water.
Two others among the rescued are in critical condition.
The eight, all students aging from 11 to 15, were skating on an
frozen lake in Shouwang Township in Zhaotong City at about 2:30
p.m., when the ice suddenly cracked.
Four of them managed to escape on their own and called adults
for help. When the others were salvaged, two were found dead and
two were unconscious, Ma Diankun, a police officer of Shouwang
Township said.
The officer said the ice on the lake was only about four cm
thick and was too dangerous to skate on. The injured are receiving
emergency treatment at a local hospital.
Yunnan was among the provinces hit by heavy snow and icy rains
since mid-January and the temperature was much lower than normal
years.
(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2008)